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Mr Bousquet-Cassange is trying to appeal to those disillusioned with the economic decline and corruption which has become endemic during Mr Hollande’s presidency.

He faces a second round run-off against Jean-Louis Costes, from former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s UMP party in Villeneuve-sur-Lot.

Etienne Bousquet-Cassange is trying to appeal to those disillusioned with the economic decline and corruption which has become endemic during Mr Hollande's presidency

The constituency was previously held by Jerome Cahuzac, Mr Hollande’s disgraced budget minister and tax tsar who turned out to have a secret Swiss bank account.

Mr Cahuzac’s Socialist successor, Bernard Barral, was knocked out in the first round last Sunday, in which Mr Costes won 28.7 per cent of the vote and Mr Bousquet-Cassagne 26 per cent.

The FN was already buoyed by reaching the second round of another by-election in March in the Oise department, north of Paris, in which the UMP candidate won by a wafer-thin margin.

But the Socialists have called on their voters to form a ‘Republic front’ against the far-right candidate by voting for his conservative rival. Whatever happens, the by-election will reduce the Socialists’ parliamentary majority to just three – down from eight last year.

French Jean-Louis Costes, from former President Nicolas Sarkozy¿s UMP party, faces a second round run-off for the by-election

This steady decline has also been reflected in record low popularity ratings for Mr Hollande as he battles historically high unemployment while seeking to rein in the public deficit. The Ifop poll showed the proportion of people satisfied with Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also declined 2 points to 31 percent.

The Socialist government has been struggling with rising unemployment, stalled economic growth, muddled Europe policy, and a large public deficit, while Mr Hollande’s same-sex marriage law also prompted huge protests.

The poll on the popularity of Mr Hollande, who was elected in May last year, was based on the views of 1,865 people aged 18 or over contacted by telephone between June 14 and June 22.